This invention relates generally to a system for mounting a radar system and more particularly to a system for mounting a radar system to a vehicle in a location behind a bumper section or other vehicle body part, for example, a lamp housing, a body panel, a license plate, or a side mirror housing.
As is known in the art, radar systems have been developed for various applications in association with automobiles and other vehicles. For example, radar systems have been proposed and built that detect the presence of objects in proximity to an automobile on which the radar is mounted.
The radar system is typically optimized in shape and materials for the transmission and reception of radar energy and is not well suited to match the appearance of the body of the automobile. Thus, when mounted on the outer surface of the body of a vehicle, such as an automobile for example, a radar system is generally not aesthetically appealing.
Furthermore, automobile manufacturers, with a desire to optimize fuel efficiency, provide automobile shapes that are generally aerodynamically efficient. The radar system is not typically aerodynamically efficient when mounted to the body of an automobile since the shape of the radar system is typically optimized for effective transmission and reception of radar energy and not generally optimized for low drag.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a system for mounting a radar system on a vehicle that allows the vehicle on which the radar system is mounted to maintain its aesthetically pleasing shape. It would also be desirable to provide a system for mounting a radar system on a vehicle which results in the mounted radar system introducing little or no additional aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and which still allows the radar system to efficiently transmit and receive of radar energy.
It has, therefore, been recognized that it would be desirable to place the radar system behind a bumper section or other existing feature of the automobile.
In accordance with the present invention, a mounting system for mounting a radar system to a vehicle includes a spacer section between the radar system and a surface of the vehicle structure. The spacer section provides transmission thickness and an angular transmission thickness associated with the vehicle structure that increases the transmission efficiency of the radar energy from the radar system through the vehicle structure. The transmission thickness, or alternatively the angular transmission thickness, are made to be one half wavelength or a multiple thereof.
The mounting system for radar is adaptable to an automobile or to any vehicle upon which a radar system is mounted.
With this particular arrangement, a radar mounting system is provided that does not detract from the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle, and that does not detract from the drag characteristics of the vehicle. The radar mounting system for vehicles still provides efficient transmission and reception of radar energy.